Charlotte messenger. [volume] (Charlotte, Mecklenburg Co., N.C.) 1882-18??, 1887-03-12
FISHHOOK MANUFACTURE.
ONLY TWO PLACES IN AMERICA
WHERE HOOKS ARE MADE.

WHERE HOOKS ARE MADE.
Hand Work Succeeded by Machin.
cry That Turns Out $4,000
Hooks a Day-The Process.
For many years brooklyn was the only
city in America where tish-hooks were
made. In fact, to-day there IS only
one other place in the country. Much
curious information has been presented
by differtnt writers concerning fish.
hooks, tracing their use to the times OF
the prophecies of Amos and to the still
more remote writing of the Book Of Job,
in both of which they are mentioned, and
they cite their use by the Apostles. In
Bohn's late addition of "Walton's Com.
plete Angler" are described the ni,c diff
fercnccs of form and qualities of the
Kirby. Limerick, Kendall and sneck
bend hooks, and long shanks are recon-
mended for hooks that arc to be dressed
with long bodied flies, as the dragon fly,
the stone fly and the spider fly, any SUI
periuity in length being easily nipped
off. The first improvement in the con-
struct!on of the fish-hook from the old
conventional style was made about thirty
years ago.
Fish-hook making in the United States
was first introduced in Brooklyn in 1874
by Job johnson, and was carried on ex-
tensively by him until the year 1867,
when the business was turned over to
John w. Court. Mr.. Court told an
Eagle reporter some interesting facts
about the manufacture of the little m
strument.
81 came to this country from the vii
lage of RedItch in Worcestershire, Eng
land. In this town there are many fish
hook manufacturers, and when a mere
boy l started out to learn the trade.
When | had finished came to Brooklyn
and worked for johnson for time and
then began for myself. hammered
out fish hooks by my hands in Ia humble
little shop not far from here, and con-
tinucd to do so until a few years ago,
when my inventive genius forced me to
experiment My labors were rewarded
by the successful invention of patent
automatic fish hook machine, which
makes eighty-fve hooks. of any 81 !e, per
minute from the common wire as fed
from reel. In olden times the hook had
to be handled many times before COM
pleted- First the wire was cut to the
right length for the size needed; then
we cut the barD on, and the next thing
was to anneal the hook, then forge it on a
drop press, next shear it on the same
press, then grind the point, shape it, and
after that eye or flute it. The the hook
was ready for tempering. These were
all done with hand machines. Icame to
the conclusion that it was slow process
and invented the machine l have referred
to oabove, which combines all of these
hand machines into one. / am now at
work upon amachine expressly for trout
hooks, that when completed will
turn out hooks at the rate of
$50 per minute. At present we make
about so, 900 hooks per day or total of
81, 900, 600 per year. The method of the
automatic patent machine is about as fol-
lows: The wire is taken from the coil
the same as received from the mill and
run through a revolving Strengthening
machine, composed of pieces of steel
screwed in zigzag shape. which acts as
friction on the wire and straightens it.
Then it is drawn On to large wheel five
feet in diameter (the process being the
same as winding cotton on spool) from
the last end of the wire and is taken and
put into the machine by an automatic
feed by two rollers any length you want.
Then it is sheared of, transferred and the
eye is put on. 1t passes on and the barb
cutter puts the barb on; then the forging
dies lake hold of it and flatten the point
OUT; it still travels on and the chipping
dies trim the blott off at an angle which
leaves ragged point. 1t still travels
further in the intricate machinery, when
the rotary mills take the rough edge off
the hook and then The other mills, made
V shape. file on the sides. After that it
is transferred to be shaped and then it
is finished. The machine is the simplest
in construction of any in existence and
the only one of its kind in the world. l
make quite a speciality in shark hooks aud
have recently turned out the largest one
ever known to be made. It was made
out of 5-eth steel wire and is 2 feet in
length-15 inches when shaped. The
bend is 1-2 inches in diameter and
the barb is 3 3-4 inches deep. l calcu-
late that the hook is capable of hold
ing four or five tons and can get away
with pretty good shark. Sailors used
to visit my shop frequently and spin
yarns while purchasing hooks, but now
they do not buy direct from me. l
ship the greater portion of the larger
hooks to Glosta, Newfoundland and